Resilient railway car suspension



Nov. 22, 1966 R. L. LICH RESILIENT RAILWAY CAR SUSPENSION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 13, 1964 .mOE Q R. L. LICH RESILIENT RAILWAY CAR SUSPENSION Nov. 22, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 13, 1964 United States Patent 3,286,655 RESILIENT RAILWAY CAR SUSPENSION Richard L. Lich, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to General Steel Industries, Inc., Granite City, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 344,730 Claims. (6]. 105-197) The invention relates to railway rolling stock and consists particularly in an improved spring suspension for freight cars.

To assure that railroad freight cars will couple with each other, a maximum coupler center height of 34 /2 inches and a minimum height of 32 /2 inches is standard in American railway practice. Since changes in the height of the coupler on a conventionally suspended freight car is a function of the spring travel, the permissible variation of only two inches in coupler height correspondingly restricts permissible spring travel, necessitating the use of relatively stiff springs.

It accordingly is a principal object of the invention to provide a suspension for railway freight cars having substantial vertical resiliency under heavy as well as light and no load conditions without exceeding the permissible coupler height tolerance.

It is a further object to provide a suspension utilizing the single spring system of conventional freight car trucks and a secondary spring system in series therewith for the purpose of furnishing a softer ride than is possible with the conventional single spring system, without exceeding the permissible variation from standard coupler height.

The foregoing and additional more detailed objects and advantages are achieved by the structure described hereinafter and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a railway freight car embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the suspension illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the suspension illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are longitudinal vertical sectional views along line 44 and 55 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a railway freight car embodying another form of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the body underframe and subframe of the car illustrated in FIG. 6.

' FIG. 8 is an end view of the car illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 9 is a transverse vertical sectional view along line 9-9 of FIG. 6.

The numeral 1 generally indicates a freight car body having an underframe comprising a longitudinally extending center sill 3 and, near its ends but spaced inwardly therefrom, transverse body bolster arms 5. Couplers 7 are mounted, in the usual way, in the ends of center sill 5 for coupling engagement with similar couplers on adjacent cars.

The car is provided with a pair of four-wheel trucks at each end each including spaced wheel and axle assemblies 9, 11, and transversely spaced longitudinally extending side frames mounted on the ends of said axles and comprising vertically spaced bottom and top chords 13 and 14. Springs 15, seated on side frame bottom chords 13, support the usual transverse bolster 17 for movement vertically relative to the side frames, whereby to provide a resilient support for the car body. At its center, truck bolster 17 is provided with an upwardly facing pivot center plate 21 which, in conventional cars, would be in pivotal and vertical load supporting engagement with a mating member at the intersection of the Patented Nov. 22, 1966 car center sill 3 and body bolster arms 5. If the car were thus conventionally constructed, the only spring deflection available to cushion the lading against vertical shocks, would be that of the relatively stiff springs 15, their stiffness being dictated by the requirement that height of the coupler centers (in American railway practice), not vary from the standard height of 34 /2 inches maximum to 32 /2 inches minimum. Thus a static deflection from empty to loaded condition of two inches is the maximum deflection permissible. This slight deflection is inadaquate for many types of delicate or sensitive ladings and the absence of softer springing frequently results in serious damage to lading.

To provide additional springing without interfering with the coupler height requirement, I pivotally mount an auxiliary bolster 23 on truck bolster 17 by means of a center plate 25 seated in pivotal and vertical load supporting mating relation on truck bolster center plate 21. In order to avoid substantially increasing the height of the car body by the interposition of auxiliary bolsters 23 between the truck bolsters and the car body, each auxiliary bolster 23 comprises a pair of transverse beams 27, 27 spaced apart lengthwise of the car a somewhat greater distance than the widths, lengthwise of the car, of truck bolsters 17 and of body bolsters 5. At the center of bolster 23, beams 27 are connected by a member 29, the bottom surface of which is at a somewhat higher level than the bottoms of members 27, center plate 25 being formed thereon. From this depressed level of their centers, beams 27 are arched upwardly as at 31 at both sides to clear the upper chords 14 of side frames 13, and outwardly of the side frames, the extremities of beams 31 are at a somewhat lower level, about the same height as side frame top chords 14 and are connected by spring seat members 33 on which are seated upright flexible wall pneumatic springs 35. The extremities of body bolster arms 5 are seated on springs 35 for relative vertical and later movements thereon, relative move ments of auxiliary bolster 27 and body bolster 5, lengthwise of the car, being limited by engagement of cooperating wear plates 37, 39 on the inner sides of auxiliary bolster beams 27 at the summits of their arched portions and on the outer sides of body bolster arms 5. With the car empty, air springs 35 would normally be left uninflated with the car body structure resting directly on auxiliary bolster 23. Under this condition couplers 7 would be at their maximum height and upon loading of the car to its full capacity, springs 13 would be compressed and the coupler lowered to the minimum permissible height of 32 /2 inches. With the springs thus compressed there would obviously be very little resilience to cushion the load against vertical track shocks.

Air for springs 35 is supplied by a pair of air reservoirs 41 fed from the train line by means of conduits 43 off the air brake operating valve 45. Reservoirs 41 are in turn connected by conduits 47, including threeway valves 49, to springs 35 so that when the car is loaded as described above, valves 49 can be manually operated to provide communication between reservoirs 41 and springs 35 to raise the car body to the maximum coupler height, thus providing springing in addition to that provided by the relatively stiff truck springs 15, without excessively heightening the coupler height under empty or slightly loaded conditions. Upon removal of the lading from the car, valves 49 can be manually operated to provide communication between springs 35 and the atmospheric vents 50 of valves 49, thus lowering the car body and the couplers to their normal height, which would, of course, have been exceeded when the lading, by means of which truck springs 15 had initially been compressed, was removed.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS.

6-9, the car comprises a pair of spaced trucks of the usual freight car type as described in connection with the first form of the invention and on the truck center plates 21 is pivotally supported a subunderframe comprising a longitudinally extending center sill 55 and longitudinally spaced pairs of transversely aligned bolster arms 57 rigid with center sill 55. The ends of center sill 55 mount couplers 7 adapted for engagement with similar couplers on other cars and accordingly required to be maintained within the 34%. inch to 32 /2 inch height above the top of the rails, truck springs 15 being of sufficient stiffness to maintain the coupler height within this range, i.e., at 34 /2 inches when the car is empty and 32 /2 inches when the car is loaded to capacity. in order to provide springing in addition to the limited resiliency required for maintenance of the standard coupler height, body bolster arms 57 mount, at their outer extremities, upright coil springs 71 which support a car body 63 by engagement with its longitudinally extending side sills 65. Side sills 65 are connected by end sills 67 and intermediate cross bearers 69, which are relatively deep at their centers and are there rectangularly apertured as at 73 to permit the passage therethrough of center sill 55, apertures 73 being substantially larger both vertically and transverse.y of the car than the maximum dimensions of center sill 55 to permit such vertical and lateral movements of the car body relative to underframe 4. A railway vehicle according to claim 2, including gas reservoir means carried by said body, conduit means connecting said reservoir means with each of said gas springs, and manually operable shut-off valve means in said conduit means controlling the admission of gas to said gas springs.

5. A railway vehicle according to claim 4, including a train air line and a valve controlled conduit connecting the same with said reservoir means.

6. A railway vehicle according to claim 1 wherein said truck sprung structures are elongated transversely of the vehicle and are provided at their centers with upwardly facing pivot center plates, and said vehicle body has a longitudinally extending draft sill and body bolster arms extending transversely therefrom, above said truck sprung structures, each said transverse member comprising a pair of beams elongated transversely of the vehicle and spaced apart longitudinally of the vehicle a greater distance than the width longitudinally of the vehicle of said body bolster arms and said truck sprung structure, said beams being depressed at their centers to a lower level than said draft sill and there being provided with structure connecting them to each other at a higher level 55, 57, as are accommodated by the vertical yieldability in shear of springs 71. For preventing relative longitudinal movements of the body and underframe 55, 57, side sills 65 are provided with depending pedestal-like elements 75 embracing and slidably engaging the ends of bolster arms 57. With this embodiment of the invention it will be evident that even though the lading is sufficient to compress springs 61 to their minimum free height and thus lower the coupler to its lowest permissible height, springs 71 will provide additional resiliency for the lading and will prevent its damage by track shocks which would otherwise pass on to it if the single system of truck springs 15 were the only spring provided.

The details of the structures disclosed herein may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of those modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A railway vehicle comprising spaced trucks each having an unsprung portion, springs carried thereby, and structure supported on said springs, the deflection of said springs between their empty and fully loaded conditions being within the permissible variation in car coupler height, transverse members mounted on said structures to swivel relative to said truck about vertical axes substantially at the centers thereof, transversely spaced upright springs seated on said transverse members, a car body supported on said upright springs, cooperating means on said body and said transverse members restraining said transverse members against relative movements longitudinally of said body, a coupler mounted on an end of the vehicle, and means permitting said upright springs to provide resilient support for said body when said first named springs are compressed to their full load condition and preventing lowering of said coupler below its minimum permissible height.

2. A railway vehicle according to claim 1 in which couplers are mounted on the ends of saidbody and said upright springs are gas springs and said last-named means are means for selectively inflating said gas springs whereby, irrespective of the load carried by said body and the resultant compression of said truck springs, said couplers may be raised to a predetermined height by inflation of said gas springs.

3. A railway vehicle according to claim 2 in which said transverse members are separate relatively movable elements.

than their bottoms and mounting on its lower surface a center plate in pivotal load supporting engagement with said first named center plate, and upwardly facing spring seats forming connections between corresponding ends of said beams.

7. A railway vehicle according to claim 6 in which said trucks each have side members at a higher level than said sprung structure, said beams being arched thereover between their depressed central portions and said spring seats.

8. A railway vehicle according to claim 1 wherein said cooperating means for restraining relative longitudinal movements of said body and said transverse members comprises transverse vertical surfaces on both sides of said body bolster arms and transverse vertical surfaces engageable therewith on the inner sides of said beams in the upwardly arched portions thereof.

'9. A railway vehicle according to claim 1 in which said transverse members are rigidly connected by a longitudinal draft sill, said last-named means comprising the mounting of said coupler on said sill whereby, irrespective of the load carried by the body, the variation in coupler height will be within the limits defined by the deflection of said first-named springs from their empty to fully loaded condition, additional vertical resiliency being provided to the body by said upright springs.

10. A railway vehicle according to claim 6 in which said body has an underframe comprising transversely spaced longitudinally extending side sills and longitudinally spaced transversely extending members connecting said side sills, said transversely extending members having deep central portions centrally apertured to permit the passage therethrough of said draft sill, the apertures being of sufiicient size to permit such movements of the body relative to said draft sill as may be accommodated by said upright springs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 295,417 3/1884 Milne -197 443,1 12 12/ 1890 Randall 105-45 3 758,604 4/1904 Downer 105-197 1,234,269 7/ 1917 Bettendorf 105-416 1,370,762 3/1921 Ostrander 105-416 2,092,457 9/1937 Kiesel 105-415 X 2,115,037 4/1938 Moses 105-415 2,500,906 3/1950 Soloview 105-199 X 2,929,338 3/1960 Lich 105-199 X MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner. ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Exammer. H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A RAILWAY VEHICLE COMPRISING SPACED TRUCKS EACH HAVING AN UPSPRUNG PORTION, SPRINGS CARRIED THEREBY, AND STRUCTURE SUPPORTED ON SAID SPRINGS, THE DEFLECTION OF SAID SPRINGS BETWEEN THEIR EMPTY AND FULLY LOADED CONDITIONS BEING WITHIN THE PERMISSIBLE VARIATION IN CAR COUPLER HEIGHT, TRANSVERSE MEMBERS MOUNTED ON SAID STRUCTURES TO SWIVEL RELATIVE TO SAID TRUCK ABOUT VERTICAL AXES SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE CENTERS THEREOF, TRANSVERSELY SPACED UPRIGHT SPRINGS SEATED ON SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBERS, A CAR BODY SUPPORTED ON SAID UPRIGHT SPRINGS, COOPERATING MEANS ON SAID BODY AND SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBERS RESTRAINING SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBERS AGAINST RELATIVE MOVEMENTS LONGITU- 